American Indians. Next are the stories of the fJr~t Ei.:S':.peans- He\vanted to be a pilot but wound up a navigator. He flew twenty- mainly Scandinavians-who fished, lumbered, we fa.'li1ed -he two combat missions in Europe but most often directed supply flights islands. Many islands tell the story of lighthouses, their ~-eepers, and R&R junkets. If you're interested in that, there's plenty of detail. and the life-saving companies who tried to rescue-rews from 'Nalling also had plenty of free time, and he had no trouble nav- storm-stricken ships in the dangerous l\'aters around -he Door. igating that, either. That's the most delightful surprise of this oth- Finally, the authors tell the twentieth-century 5 ory 0"- people erwise modest memoir. Walling, 90 when it was published, isn't who bought some of the smaller islands where ther 5 mmered in ashamed to admit to a few wartime dalliances. lavish homes. For example, the authors take you on to' rs of homes "I shall not try to hide them for they were an important part of my on Horseshoe Island, off Peninsula State Park; Echo Island in overseas life:'he writes."Understand me, or condemn me, as you wish:' Kangaroo Lake (fascinating); Adventure Island in the Strawberry Walling led a charmed life in Europe from 1944 to 1946. He was- Islands; and even near Death's Door. n't always sleeping in the barracks and somehow never too far Except for Washington Island, which can be reached by ferry, from a fully stocked bar. He hit it off with an English woman after , and perhaps , Door County islands shamelessly admiring her poodle. He lived in a 30-room French are largely inaccessible to land lubbers. That's why most of us will chateau for three months and romanced one of the locals. All this find the Burtons' book a fascinating armchair tour of these islands before he made it to Italy, Belgium, and Greece. and their history. That was some kind of active duty. Those are the war stories less Clete DeIvaux, Retired Instructor often told, the ones that bring history to life ... or, in this case, life Northeast Technical College to history. Jeff Ash Green Bay Press-Gazette

~ CROSSING LAKE

by David Walling

Da" '1 rcrnn:scos about illS yeals as a 'N\~Ji nC"Jgatcr fror"', a persoEctlilC vet.,; If) r C C' The History oft/Ie read bufc'c • Ann Arbor Car Ferries

Harvard MBA Navigates WWII David Walling www.davidwalling.com. 2008 Ninety YearsCrossing : 170 pages, $17.95 The History of the Ann Arbor Car Ferries If nothing else, David Walling of Manitowoc has rather memo- Grant Brown, Jr. rably answered the question almost every veteran's family asks: Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2008 "So, what did you do in the war?" 296 pages, $70 hardcover, $24.95 paper Walling, who grew up in Manitowoc, was 24 when the Japanese For anyone who grew up along the shores of Lake Michigan, attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, launched the into particularly prior to the mid-1970s, car ferries are a form of addic- World War II in December 1941. Having earned a Harvard busi- tion. They were the cities of light at night and the smoking drag- ness degree a year earlier, he was working in Washington, D.C., for ons of the day. Much has been written about car ferries, including the Hamilton Manufacturing Co. of Two Rivers. the Frederickson books regarding the Ann Arbor car ferries, as So begins Walling's remarkable journey. Told in a breezy yet well a's George Hilton's book on Great Lakes' car ferries in gener- matter-of-fact style, this is the story of a guy who worked behind al. This newest book, Ninety Years Crossing Lake Michigan: The the scenes in Europe during and after World War II, most often History of the Ann Arbor Car Ferries surprisingly does not dupli- well out of harm's way. cate those earlier works.

Winterl Spring 2011 /63 Its focus, while on the ships, is slightly different. It places the Algoma, and Sturgeon Bay,were intimately involved with the ferry ships in their economic context in the greater transportation service by virtue of the daily observations of their crossings. In scheme, explaining their beginning, their existence, and their ulti- addition, there was the social impact since many citizens from these mate demise. It is well written, well researched, and extremely communities were employed at one time or another on the ferries. readable. It ties together the issues of the vessels' size, propulsion, For anyone who remembers the car ferries and for anyone interest- the weather they faced, and the challenges of the harbors on their ed in the history of the Great Lakes, this is a must read book. routes. It reminds us what an innovative novelty they truly were Timothy F. Nixon and goes well beyond mere factual recitation and repetition of Godfrey & Kahn, Attorneys at Law well-known stories. In particular, it focuses on their major natural enemy-ice. In This will be the last issue Kerry order to be successful, the Ann Arbor car ferries had to provide Trask, noted historian and for- year-round service for the railroads. To do that, in addition to mer history professor at UW- braving the tempests that frequent the Great Lakes, particularly in Manitowoc, will be serving as fall, the real battle was against the ice. This is particularly true for Voyageur's review editor. He has the Ann Arbor ferries given the route across Lake Michigan done an excellent job for almost a through the Sturgeon Bay canal to Menominee, Michigan. The decade, and we want to thank book provides in-depth and fascinating detail" regarding those him for his service, dedication, years in which the ferries battled the ice. The reader is drawn into and talent. an almost war-like narrative of the struggles to maintain a year- round, cross-lake alternative to Chicago's rail congestion. These epic struggles among man, machinery, and nature were followed by local citizenry almost as if they were a sporting event. Most books reviewed in Voyageur are available The Wisconsin communities of Manitowoc and Kewaunee and through the Hazelnut Gallery at the Brown Menominee, Michigan's adjoining sister city, Marinette, were signif- County Historical Society (920) 437~1840. icantly economically impacted by the existence of the Ann Arbor ferries. Moreover, the in-between cities, such as Two Rivers,

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